merit; meritorious deed; service
Refers to a praiseworthy act or contribution, often in formal or historical contexts. Common in phrases like 功を立てる (to perform a meritorious deed) and 功績 (achievements).
He left a great merit to the company.
achievement; accumulated experience
Emphasizes the result of effort or the experience gained through long practice. Often used in compound words like 功を積む (to accumulate achievements/experience).
The soldier who performed a meritorious deed on the battlefield was commended.
He was promoted in recognition of his years of achievement.
He accumulated experience in research and finally developed a new drug.
He performed a meritorious deed on the battlefield and was honored for it.
I've built up years of experience and achievement in this job.
This success is thanks to her contribution.
手柄 is a casual, everyday word for a meritorious deed (e.g. in conversation about a hero's exploit), whereas 功 is formal and often historical or literary.
功労 stresses the effort and service behind a contribution (often used for awards like 功労賞), while 功 focuses on the resulting merit itself.
功 (merit, achievement) and 公 (public, official) share the same on-reading こう but have completely unrelated meanings, so learners often mix them up when guessing readings.
功 (also read こう) means 'merit' or 'achievement', while 工 as a suffix means 'worker'; they sound identical but are unrelated in meaning.
功 (こう) is a homophone meaning merit or achievement, quite different from 巧, which means skillfulness or ingenuity.
success; achievement · worldly success; prosperity; succeeding in life
achievement; meritorious deed; distinguished service; contribution
meritorious deed; distinguished service
qigong; chi kung; breathing exercise
distinguished war service; military merit
utility; usefulness
merits and demerits; strengths and weaknesses
great achievement; glorious deed; fame; distinction
success; achievement; fruition
The kanji 功 combines 工 (work) and 力 (power), suggesting the result of effort. The reading こう is the on'yomi. The word is used primarily in formal or literary contexts.
meritorious deeds; distinguished services
long service; seniority
conferring honors according to merit
great deed; distinguished service
spiritual power from Buddhist practice
exploit; achievement; great deed
use; function; role
land granted for distinguished service (ritsuryō system)
amount of work; extent of labor
meritorious retainer; distinguished vassal
merits and demerits; achievements and faults
meritorious deed; distinguished service
great achievement; distinguished service